The Rise of India’s Common Man Party (AAP) Could Prevent Religious Strife
Those of us who have been tracking the anti–corruption movement, out of which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP or Common Man Party) was born, have been relieved to witness the spectacular electoral rise of this new party. It has won 67 out of 70 seats in the assembly elections. This victory is crucial for several […]
The Myth of India as a Superpower
The verdict of the world press is finally out: India, they say, is no longer a poor, despicable country as depicted by orientalist European cinema and novels but is now a superpower. To strengthen their argument, they show us India’s nuclear arsenal. If this does not suffice, they show us that the wealth of the […]
College Street, Kolkata: Where Life and Dreams Merge In Books
Books, first and foremost, must disturb, provoke, and yes, unmake me. For me, reading is as important as watching open-blue skies, electric poles with stray crows of afternoon and patches of white clouds that resemble bales of cotton. I suppose I was lucky or smart enough to find College Street while I was young, because […]
India’s Modi Rewrites History for a Punitive State
United States Secretary of State John Kerry visited India in July 2014, and we know why. American officials don’t like to waste their time. The reason for the visit was simple: at present, the trade volume of the US with India is around $100 billion, and Mr. Kerry wants to enhance it to $500 billion. […]
Poetry Is a Tunnel, a Forest in the Human Heart
As I move down the streets, where the fog from the sky melts with the dust, the streets become hazy…. And this reminds me of my own soul — The perennially hazy evening that my soul is. I still remember the afternoon when one of my boisterous uncles, perhaps out of concern, said to me, […]
